Anybody tried making a 'chopsaw' from an angle grinder?

[Toby_2010]

Hi,

New to welding, bought a Mig two weeks ago, am welding 3/4" 1.2mm box section however I struggle to get really square cuts with either the anglegringer (115mm) or a hacksaw.

We own a Mitre saw (for wood obviously) which it such a fantastic tool, square cuts on wood every time! It got me thinking if there was an equivalent for metal, some research threw up 'chopsaws' however starting at cira £100 I cant afford one!

So, what about a frame made from box section which holds the angle grinder round the body and also screws into where the handle goes and which all pivots at the back (as a mitre saw does). This would provide square cuts (and could also have facilities for 45degree cuts)

Any feedback most welcome!

All the best,

Toby

 

[gavuk]

there are some commercially made versions out there....angle grinder stand try searching ,angle grinder stand

 

[Toby_2010]

there are some commercially made versions out there....angle grinder stand try searching ,angle grinder stand

thanks for the reply, I hadn't realised that they were already available! i do quite like the idea of having this as a project though and it would still be cheaper to build.

Any feedback on the possibility of building my own?

 

[gavuk]

I'm sure it can be made,the link is not the cheapest out there ,personally i think i would buy a stand ....lol....or cut by hand ....post some pics if you decide to build though or review if you purchase a manufactured version

 

[rkde]

They work very well though I think the original maker (wolf) has stopped supplying many places, I think even machine mark have stopped selling them. Its a good small tool to have

 

[madkayaker]

i have a small one but find it very inacurate and for the 115mm grider its very limited on capacity

 

[Toby_2010]

I'm sure it can be made,the link is not the cheapest out there ,personally i think i would buy a stand ....lol....or cut by hand ....post some pics if you decide to build though or review if you purchase a manufactured version

Thanks, I think i'l try the build, worst that can happen is I use £10 worth of box section and it turns out to be rubbish!

Will post pics of the build though!

 

[pedrobedro]

I have a frame to convert a 115mm or 125mm grinder to a chop saw. The clamp for the metal stops the disk from cutting all the way through when it is worn down. I think it cost £5 and was overpriced at that.

 

[Can'tWeld]

Machine Mart do a mini-chopsaw, IIRC it is between £30 and £40.

Make sure you stock up on discs though, they are an odd size and only seem to be available at Machine Mart.

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

Trying to convert a combi wood chopsaw to cut lots of 25 mm x 3 mm angle iron and same sized square hollow bar ..

On mine I found that the metal cutting blades were a smaller spindle size , also the actual cutting blade was about 1/2 inch too big a diameter. The blade spindle speed is also much slower on the woodsaw.

So
I ended up squaring the angle using a 2 B thin pencil, cutting on the waste side and then trimming back to each pencil line using a 4 " bosch hand held jobby with the side handle fitted.

My next project using big square stuff will see me use white emulsion to back ground the pencil lines as my eyesight is now not quite as good as it was prior to a recent small stroke.

Aldi & Lidel do those small grinder clamp devices around this time of the year for about £10 , I got one , plus five packs of discs for cutting stainless steel ( very thin and last about as long as a snowball in hell )

 

[graffian]

I made one for chopping header tube, it worked really well.

The grinder screwed directly to it, using the screws that held
the bevel housing in place. The pivot was old wheel bearings so
the whole thing moved nicely and was pretty rigid. I chucked it
away when I bought a 25 quid chop saw on ebay, which is all
you would expect for £25.

 

[Angusdog]

I had a angle grinder chop saw and sadly it was rubbish - the capacity (with a 115mm grinder) was so small as to be pointless. Used it once, then binned it after I pulled any useful nuts & bolts off it.

 

[tomsutton529]

I have heard of people putting metal cutting discs from a grinder into a chop saw and it worked very nicely...

 

[Wedg1e]

One minor issue is that not all angle-grinders can be locked in the 'on' position so you'd have to boondoggle the power switch.

I use a Bosch chopsaw I got via Ebay for £34, must be more of them out there... although perhaps the obvious suggestion is just to keep practicing with the angle grinder: the more you use it, the more accurate you get.

 

[aametalmaster]

Yup works great for what i use it for. I cut lots of SS O Scale Model RR Track for my ceilingtrains.com bridges. Plus small hardned parts i can't cut in my bandsaw. It uses 6" x .045 cut off wheels...Bob

 

[SB Metalman]

Wow, nice work aametalmaster.
I do like your grinder jig, maybe there's a way to reverse engineer one.

If it's of interest, (As a get you through cum work around) I've used an empty bog roll tube and slid it on to the box section before now, then marked round the edge of that, useful for repeating angles too.

Usually I grind a guide slot front and back then join up the sides, then cut all the way through.
Obviously jig would be better though.

What happened to those things with a handle they had at M/Mart that you fitted your grinder to? It said discontinued on their web page
Were they any good?

 

[eil]

The word 'discontinued' tels you how good they were, I think I have one still in its box somewhere,used once and discarded swiftly as a dangerous bit of tat.

 

[aametalmaster]

Wow, nice work aametalmaster.
I do like your grinder jig, maybe there's a way to reverse engineer one.

Just make some brackets to fit the grinder you want to use. Then make up a hinge deal that will let your grinder cut what you need cut. You can make any kind of vise you need also...Bob

 

[Widdle]

Dear Weldmongers!

If you'll forgive me for reviving a five-year-old topic, I'd like to express my thanks for covering this subject and posting your work. Months ago it was the topmost hit on my google search and today I though I'd post a photo of a contraption I came up with. It's of poor quality, but should do the job.

View media item 8114
Everything's been TIGed from scrap with the exception of the axle which I salvaged from my wife's broken elliptical trainer. It's a 9inch grinder that's been collecting dust for years. Because of my tennis elbow injury the lifting is assisted by a 200N pneumatic spring. It takes forever to get it aligned properly, but once done, it runs square and true.

 

[DanielW]

I had a cheap cross mitre saw and decided to buy a good new one but didn't get rid of the cheap one,instead I disposed of the saw blade and replaced it with a metal cutting disc of the same size of the saw blade.

worked a treat cutting box section mitres.